smart grid

Northern Illinois needs a faster, more reliable electrical grid. That’s why Com Ed is being advised to build a 57-mile-long high-power transmission line stretching across four counties. The company that supplies electricity to most of the region is holding open houses about the project it’s calling “The Grand Prairie Gateway.”

Illinois Governor Pat Quinn vetoed legislation yesterday that would have paved the way for increases in electric rates. The bill applies to the state's largest electric utilities: ComEd and Ameren. They're trying to secure a rate hike in order to pay for upgrades to their smart grid. Normally, the utilities have to go through a state regulator , but that agency said "no" to rate hikes. So the companies have been trying a different strategy. "The utilities, every time now that they get an...